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On January 12, 2009, BLD's Global Spiritual Director, Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo, who concurrently serves as President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wrote a letter to update Diocesan Bishops who made possible the establishment of the BLD Covenant Community within their respective jurisdictions. The letter gives a picture of the breadth and reach of BLD not only within the Philippines but in Asia and North America, as well, including St. Catharines.
Please click here to view copy of Bishop Lagdameo's letter which was forwarded to the Most Reverend Bishop James M. Wingle of the Diocese of St. Catharines. For BLD's linkage to the Roman Catholic Church, click on the following links: 1. Community Bulletin CSL CIRCULAR NO. 05-2009-054P 2. Community Bulletin CSL CIRCULAR NO. 05-2009-054S 3. BLD Linkage Organizational Chart
Members and Leadership Mission, Vision, Charism Spiritual Director District Shepherds
"As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it." (1st Cor. 12:12, 27) Members and LeadershipMembers of our community include regular, committed or covenanted members wherein every individual serves in a ministry supported by a Ministry Coordinator. The leadership body is composed of two bodies working closely together: the District Council of Stewards (DCS) and the District Leadership Conference (DLC). please click here to view our Organizational Chart Mission: As a communion of encountered families, we are called by the Lord to build communities of disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will renew and strengthen our Christian faithful through programs of Christian encounter (Marriage, Family, Solo Parent, Singles, Youth Encounters and Life in the Spirit Seminars), of Spiritual Growth, of Pastoral Care and of Poverty Alleviation. Vision: We are a communion of families and a community of persons called together as one people through the moment of encounter and a process of renewal to a relationship of faith, hope, and love with God. We are reconciled with the Father by our saving faith in Jesus Christ, by renewing trust in the Holy Spirit, and by our uniting compassion with one another. We are blessed with personal gifts – spiritual and natural, innate or acquired – which we yield to the Word and the Spirit. We give freely and fully of ourselves, love and serve one another as we seek and proclaim God’s Kingdom. We commit, as disciples of Jesus, to speak the words and do the deeds of Christ among the Filipino people and among others to whom we are called by the Lord. Charism: We are the Lord’s under-shepherds. We will be witnesses to the Word that others may hear and understand. We will be counselors with the Spirit, that others may have healing and wholeness. We will be defenders in Christ of those who suffer injustice and oppression. back to top
Our Spiritual Director Fr. Manuel L. Serranilla Jr. was ordained at the Manila Cathedral by the late Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, D.D., Archbishop of Manila, on August 23, 1986. For his first assignment, Fr. Manuel served as parochial vicar to Bishop Teodoro Bacani. He then became the Pastor of the Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Mandaluyong City. In 1992, he began to do pilgrimages in the Philippines after attending the Diamond Jubilee Celebration (75th Anniversary) of the apparition of our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. This marked the beginning of other Marian pilgrimages and international conferences in Asia, North America, Europe, and Mexico. His pastoral experiences and exposure to the renewal and charismatic movements in the Philippines and abroad enrich his priestly ministries. In 1997, Fr. Manuel became the Assistant Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart Church, Turlock, California, then came to Toronto in 1998 to be with his family due to the lingering sickness of his father. He was then assigned to various parishes in the diocese of Toronto. At present, Fr. Manuel L. Serranilla, Jr. is the Parochial Vicar at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in St. Catharines, Ontario. He is also the Spiritual Director for the BLD Charismatic Community of the Diocese. In addition, Fr. Manuel is the priest Chaplain for the Spanish-Latin Community of the Diocese and the Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus (Cathedral Council).
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District Shepherds 
Olie & Menchu Ealdama are graduates of BLD Toronto's Marriage Encounter #1 and Life in the Spirit Seminar #1 held in mid-1991. They have been actively involved in Community since, including having been charged with the governance and pastoral care responsibilty for the Toronto District from 1998 - 2000 along with two other couples as part of the Tricord Body. Commencing 2001 until September 2006, they served as Homestead Coordinators (Homestead is now known as Mission Ministry) whose mission was to bring BLD's programs, like the LSS, to surrounding parishes. They were appointed to their present post as District Shepherds for St. Catharines in October 2006. Olie and Menchu also serve as corporate worship leaders, ME sharers and District instructors. back to top
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Apostolates